Different shaped ball, same financial problems? A holistic performance assessment of English Rugby Union (2006-2015)

Abstract

Purpose Rugby union’s late move to professionalism in 1995 has led to concerns about the financial development of the game. The purpose of this paper is to extend the knowledge base on professional team sports in the UK by analysing the financial and sporting performance of rugby union clubs. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained by dissecting the annual accounts of nine English Premiership rugby clubs between 2006 and 2015. Analysis was performed using the performance assessment model, which analyses both financial and sporting areas of performance and is devised through statistical analysis procedures to provide a holistic measure of overall performance for each club. Findings There is financial disparity amongst clubs that has widened over the period of the study. In terms of sporting performance, the data suggest that competition is more equal, something that is less evident in other UK professional team sports such as football and rugby league. Correlation analysis reveals that overall performance varies over time in cycles. Research limitations/implications The study has implications for the clubs competing in the English Premiership and for the league organisers themselves, particularly with reference to regulatory procedures such as raising the salary cap and increased broadcasting deals. Originality/value The paper has demonstrated the importance of balancing multiple performance objectives in professional team sports and has expanded the academic discussion on the financial health of professional team sports in the UK, particularly with reference to the financial health of rugby union where research has historically been scarce.

Howzat? The Financial Health of English Cricket: Not Out, Yet

“…This paper has provided a valuable contribution to the literature on the financial health of professional team sports and provides an update to the paper by Shibli and Wilkinson-Riddle in 1997. This paper also contributes to contemporary literature that has documented the issues in professional team sports in the UK in recent years such as football (e.g., Buraimo et al 2006;Wilson et al 2013), cricket (e.g., Shibli and Wilkinson-Riddle 1997), rugby union (e.g., Hogan et al 2013;Slack 1999, 2003;Wilson and Plumley 2017) and rugby league (Wilson et al 2015). The findings of this paper, in respect of poor financial health (by commercial standards) and the influence of governing body intervention are consistent with the findings of these authors.…”

“…The problems of cricket and its clubs in respect of financial mismanagement are not exclusive. Past research has already outlined individual problems at club level in English professional football (Buraimo et al 2006), English rugby union (Wilson and Plumley 2017) and English rugby league (Wilson et al 2015). Whilst the positives for cricket are that it has tried to counter some of the issues by pursuing aggressive strategies that have developed modified versions of their own game (such as T20), there is also a real danger of overkill in relation to adding more and more variants of essentially the same sport.…”

“…The dichotomy between on-field and off-field performance in professional team sports, exacerbated by the commercialisation of sport during the last two decades, according to Wilson and Plumley (2017), and the need for clubs to balance both financial and sporting performance has led to a multitude of academic papers in the area of sport finance. Sport teams tend to be fairly unique entities with the majority strategically positioning themselves to maximise performance both on and off the pitch, whilst simultaneously satisfying a number of different stakeholders.…”

“…However, financial problems are not only exclusive to football in relation to professional team sports in the UK. Previous research has also highlighted financial problems in rugby union (e.g., Slack 1999, 2003;Williams 2012;Wilson and Plumley 2017) and rugby league (Wilson et al 2015). However, aside from the paper by Shibli and Wilkinson-Riddle (1997), there is a lack of literature available on the financial health of county cricket in the UK.…”

Federated networks in England and Australia cricket: a model of economic dependency and financial insecurity

“…However, there was a small number of clubs with a large fan base and a history of on field success, that were financially secure and had sufficient assets to use for future investment in facilities that showcased they have a long-term vision of financial sustainability. As discussed in Wilson and Plumley (2017) and Williams (2012) Whilst cricket had radically changed from 1997 with the introduction of T20 cricket in 2003, the reliance on the ECB grant revenue remained. There was an indication that CCCs have recognised the need diversify their income streams, with considerable investment in capital expenditure projects to grow their commercial 'non-cricket' revenue.…”